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Monday, November 05, 2012

New Voter Suppression Laws Threaten to Turn Back the Clock

Indeed, voter repression is less about voter fraud and more about the disenfranchisement of voters, that is, reducing
legitimate voter turnout among minority voters and the poor (both of which overlap), in particular.This gets manifest through strategies in
various ways, including:

·ending
same day registration reducing
absentee voting

imimposing
a new requirement for voters to present a government-issued photo ID (or other
documentary evidence) that demonstrates proof of citizenship.

·Cutting
the number of early voting days (Florida)

·Purging
potential “non-citizens” from its voting rolls as in the case of Florida; FYI Colorado had also planned to purge is voters but got stopped by the state.

·Changing
state constitutions put before voters that would require a government-issued
photo ID (Minnesota)

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
has spread fear of a fraud epidemic which is simply not true.This is about the disenfranchisement of particularly
minority voters.If this is an issue you
care about, consider signing a petition at http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/alec/

Written
by Adam Schiff who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, and represents the
29th Congressional District.

Wednesday,
12 September 2012 10:47

In
the State of Florida, some state legislators and election officials are trying
to do away with most early voting, and in particular, a very successful program
to allow voters to cast their ballots the weekend before the election.
Similarly in Ohio, another key battleground state this election, officials are
trying to do away with an early election program put into place after the
disastrous 2000 election in which voters had to wait hours on election day in
order to vote.

Given
the success of these programs in boosting voter participation, it is logical to
ask why some officials are trying to curtail them. The answer given – to attack
the problem of voter fraud – simply doesn't add up. For one thing, there is
very little evidence of actual voter fraud, as opposed to registration fraud.
And for another, there is no reason to believe that early voting is subject to
greater fraud than same day voting.

The
more plausible explanation is far less benign – these laws are designed to
reduce legitimate voter turnout and in particular, discourage minority voters.
In Florida, more than half of African Americans cast their ballots the weekend
before the last Presidential election. Similarly, in Ohio and other states
which allow early voting, a disproportionate number of minority voters take
advantage of the opportunity to cast their ballots before election day.

It's
not just early voting that is under assault, as states adopt a range of
policies to roll back access to the ballot box. These include ending same day
registration, reducing absentee voting, and most prevalent of all – imposing a
new requirement for voters to present a government-issued photo ID or other documentary
proof of citizenship in order to vote.

These
new requirements have come despite eleven percent of American citizens lacking
a photo ID and another seven percent of our citizens not possessing formal
"proof" of citizenship. Most shocking is the impact of these new
identification requirements on the African-American community in particular –
one in four African-Americans do not have a state ID, and these types of voter
ID laws are now on the books in at least thirty states.

The
new voter suppression laws will lead to significant burdens for voters who only
want to exercise their right and let their voices be heard. According to the
non-partisan Brennan Center for Justice, it is estimated that these new laws
would make it harder for 10 million eligible Americans to cast their ballots.
While these new laws will lower voter registration and turnout across the
board, they will specifically and disproportionately impact young, elderly,
minority, low-income, and disabled voters.

Fortunately,
the courts have been loath to countenance this blatant effort to disenfranchise
minority voters. Federal courts in Florida, Ohio and Texas have acted to
suspend these laws in some – but not all – affected jurisdictions. But more
needs to be done to ensure we do not turn the clock back and eviscerate the
right which is deemed the foundation of all other rights.

Along
with many of my colleagues in the House – including giants like Congressmen
John R. Lewis and James E. Clyburn – I have co-sponsored the Voter Empowerment
Act. This bill will modernize our voter registration system to guarantee equal
access for all Americans and to protect voters from restrictive voting measures
– combating the state laws that make it more difficult for eligible voters to
get to the polls. It will also modernize the way we vote by requiring voter
registration be made available on the Internet, automatic registration for
certain individuals, ensure same-day registration, facilitate individuals with
disabilities to vote, and accept voter registration applications from potential
voters who are at least 16 years old.

Four
years ago, America elected its first African American president and the nation
celebrated the immense new stride it had taken towards equality for all its
citizens. On that night, President Obama spoke about Ann Nixon Cooper, a woman
born in 1902, when women could not vote and African American access to the
polls was severely limited. How jarring and incongruous to now find many states
stepping back in time to an era when so many Americans were disenfranchised. We
must not let them succeed.

Representative
Adam Schiff serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, and represents the
29th Congressional District.